Technology trends, insights and news

June 26, 2005

The Complexities of Music

We're not talking about Bach, Frank Zappa or DJ Shadow. We're talking about how spellbindingly complex the process of licensing music is.

We just brought up the actions of the US Copyright Office (Bigger than Grokster?) in taking the first steps to possibly creating a new content licensing methodology and how important it will ultimately be when solutions are created in a post-Grokster decision world.

But, as they say, the journey could be a lot more interesting than the destination. And, the inherent complexities of the copyright process could make it incredibly important for the technology industry to remain vigilant during the legislative process. After all, there is simply no way that more than a handful of congressional offices will be able to fully comprehend and drive policy development here. It's not that others are dumb or disinterested. It's just that they have a million other priorities and will naturally gravitate towards issues that you quickly grasp and master. When the can't do that, they'll take the advice of trusted advisors and supporters. There's a good chance that not all these well-paid souls from K Street will have the tech industry's best interests always at heart.

How complex are these issues? Consider....

excerpts from an excellent summary of music licensing from Music Musings....

Music licensing in the digital world is a complex maze, to say the
least. For each and every song that is either downloaded or streamed
over the Internet, there are at least four different types of licenses
that have to be thought through.

If the song is being "performed" over the Internet (eg, streamed or
broadcast), then you have to make sure that you have the proper public
performance licenses from both the record labels (SoundExchange) and
the music publishers/songwriters (ASCAP/BMI/SESAC). If the song is
being "downloaded" over the Internet (eg, ala carte downloads from
iTunes) , then you have to make sure you have the proper
reproduction/distribution licenses from both the record labels (major
labels, indie labels, individual artists) and the music publishers
(Harry Fox Agency, publishing houses, individual
publishers/songwriters).

While that's a handful to think about for each and every song
streamed or downloaded, it's just the beginning. There are numerous
additional wrinkles. For example, when a song is streamed "on demand"
then the publishers believe you have to get a license from them too.
The publishers feel that a stream on demand is really "like" a
download. And if that doesn't convince you, then the publishers will
argue that a stream on demand really requires alot of little, temporary
copies of the songs in order for the stream to make it from the
streamers server to the listener's computer.

Ok, but what about the fact that each song might have multiple
different publishers? It's like a complex algebra equation to figure
out what licenses are needed from what copyright owners for each
different type of digital music delivery option for a song. If there
weren't clearing agencies and societies, it would literally be a cost
nightmare to clear each and every song for any kind of music service.

And, again, you can drill down for pages and pages on each and everyone of the issues above. Again, go to Ernest Miller's blog for a flavor for this, or this handy recap of the key issues in the Copyright Office propsal and blogosphere reaction at Tech Law Advisor.

Those who want a world of unfettered, yet compensated, distribution of entertainment content online will need to redouble their efforts to effectively communicate their positions on these matters as the leave the legal arcana of the Copyright Office and move to the bullet-pointed land of The Hill.

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